Monster: An Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member

Kody Scott, born in 1963 and raised in South Central Los Angeles, was initiated as Crip at the age of 11. Before his teen years were gone, he had risen in Crip ranks to the status of Ghetto Star (ghetto celebrity). When he was 13, while robbing a man he was accidentally hit in the face by the victim. When the man was on the flee, he tripped and was then pinned in place while Kody in retaliation pounded and stomped him, then abandoned his disfigured body in an alley. The man was taken to a hospital where Kody last heard he had fallen into a coma. The police told bystanders that the person responsible for this was a "monster", and the name stuck. All Crips and all Bloods received some kind of nickname and 'Kody', already being a cool name, was then prefaced by Monster and was soon the moniker replacement for Kody.

published in 1993

When Monster was just joining the Crips, the war on the L.A. streets had only been going on about nine years, and was waged between the Crips and the Bloods. But as the nation of the Crips was growing, soon Crips were not just 75 or so in a set, but would later be a thousand deep. There were many sets, and sets in turns were broken down by streets, so literally there developed a Crip street gang on every street, and the Crip friends that Monster hung out with in his very early years as a gangster later became his mortal enemies as Crips started fighting other Crip gangs, rather than just ganging up on the Bloods. Initially the worst enemies were Crip and Blood sets, but by the late 1980s Crips were the number-one killers of Crips. In fact, as Monster Kody Scott writes his autobiography, he later states that in a 12-year period (1980-1993 approximately - he published his book in 1993) more Crips were killed in that time than Crips killed by Bloods in the entire 22 years of the war (1971?-1993).

By the time Monster was 15, he had already killed several, bashed in several and overall made quite a name for himself. Then in a drunken state, he smashed up 15 cars before he was captured and charged with assault and grand theft, receiving 9 months in camp. He had already been to the Hall, now he was going to be sent to the Camp, a tougher place to survive. Youth Authority, the next level for incarcerating adolescents under 18, would be next, followed by prison ... each sentence become longer and with harder convictions. Then of course there are many types of prison, L.A. country jail, Folsom prison, Chino state prison (with its Deep Seg or Deep Segregation unit), San Quentin, (100 years older than Chino and having double- and triple-max units). Monster experienced them all. Monster deserved them all. He makes no apologies. Monster simply states that once you're a Crip, you have to give attention to the 'hood, avenging disrespect from other gangs (or even within gang), protecting your family and protecting yourself. And that was why you joined a gang, to protect yourself. It seemed that every time he got out of youth camp or later prison, he would have a "strap", a gun, and would go out on a shooting spree before being home a full day. He had a name to keep up in the early days, and he had to give paybacks as a good and well-connected Crip should.

However, when he was 30 and in Chino, he started realizing that Crip on Crip and killing Crip was going nowhere. He met someone from the CCO, the Consolidated Crip Organization, which had a 'constitution', and the fundamental beliefs in respecting one's self (not calling one's self a nigga, not dissing one's family especially one's mother or sister, developing language of respect, and becoming educated to think logically for one's self and to make goals for one's self and the Crips as a whole).  The Constitution was new and it held promises to questions Monster had about where the Crips were taking the war -- basically, nowhere but the grave. He joined and then worked on creating a unified goal for the Crips, not to fight against one another but for a united cause.

In 1987 the Consolidated Crip Organization was disbanded. It was going nowhere except creating new faces to an old war. By this time Monster threw his lot in totally with the New Afkrikan Independence Movement. Even before going to San Quentin maximum security prison he had learned about the new movement but it was at San Quentin where he joined and was given his new name, Sanyika Shakur.

Sanyika Shakur was paroled in 1988, got his first job and tried to become a family man with a goal and to live more peaceably on the streets. When he got out of prison after being in for 4 1/2 years, he returned to mother's home and was appalled at the burnt down buildings around, the squallor, the homeless, and graffiti street gangs painted but he could no longer interpret as new gangs had been created since he had been imprisoned. This shock at his former reality confirmed that change was needed in his 'hood and that he could lead some members of his 'hood to leave their Crip-killing-gangs and realign themselves as New Afrikans revolutionaries with a purpose like himself.

Sanyika tried to live a more moral life, one showing respect for himself and also as a role model for his family. However, in 1991 he was captured by L.A.P.D. for assault and grand theft auto, charges that "stemmed from a healthy beating [he] had given a crack dealer who had refused to stop selling his product on [Sanyika's] corner." Sanyika then confiscated the dealer's van which, along with the beating, earned Sanyika another seven years in a maximum security prison. Sanyikda doesn't apologize, he has no regrets, but says "When the police and other government agencies don't seem to care about what is going on in our communities, then those of us who live in them must take responsibility for their protection and management."

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I found this book brutal but eye-opening as to the motivation of street gangs. It is one thing to sit in my white middle-class comfort and judge behavior as being morally right or morally wrong based on my genteel lifestyle and surroundings and totally another to see what is maybe not morally right but justifiably right when in a different context. As Sanyika Shakur states near the end of his autobiography, his early days in the Crips was without any real purpose except to belong to something big and tough and earn a reputation, but ultimately he realized there was no real purpose for all the killings, especially when the war became less Crip-on-Blood and more Crip-on-Crip. In his youth he didn't realize there was no real goal for the Crips in the killings. He didn't recognize the killings he and his tribe accomplished was just feeding an insatiably thirsty circle of action of purposeless killing.

The insights shared by Sanyika Shakur on the structure of the gang, the tribalism attitudes and shared street slang and signs connoting membership, and the code of conduct which was very strict are well documented. Living proximal to or condoning such a brutal live-or-die lifestyle alters a person. This is not my reality, but I am glad for Sanyika's insights to the reality of the New Afrikans and the people in the inner L.A. poverty zones so, as an educator and as an anthropologist, I can be more understanding of the educational and social needs I can endeavor to meet in my classroom. Being aware of the educational challenges caused by the social environment gives me a better understanding of how to potentially develop ways / a program / tools to assist youth in their learning process.

In fact, I think that educators, educational counselors, psychologists, anthropologists and sociologists should have this book on their reading list. The book gives a detailed psychological study of an L.A. gang member and discusses points of race, status, economics, prejudices, law interpretation ... While I am in no way connected or even familiar with gangs, I felt this book doesn't justify gangs but explains the motivations to belong to one and perform as a gang member. A very insightful book that made me less judgmental of brutal street behavior but more knowledgeable about why that brutality exists and in what form and by whom, almost always for a gang-viewed "logical" reason.